Wax guard for hearing aids



March 19, 1968 R. T. MARTIN WAX GUARD FOR HEARING AIDS 2 SheetsSheet 1 Filed April 1; 1965 VJQZQ? m T N E V m R/CgARD .71 MR TIN M%M4 ATTORNEYS March 19, 1968 R. T. MARTIN 3,374,318

WAX GUARD FOR HEARING AIDS Filed April 1, 1965 2 Sheets-Sheet S FIG. 6'

INVENTOR. H/c/gAR0 T MAR TIN A T TOP/V5 Y3 United States Patent Oil 3,374,318 WAX GUARD FOR HEARING AIDS Richard T. Martin, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to Dahlberg Electronics, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Minnesota Filed Apr. 1, 1965, Ser. No. 444,551 9 Claims. (Cl. 179-184) This invention pertains to improvements in hearing aids, and more particularly to improvements in an inthe-ear hearing aid which is designed to be worn in the external ear of the user. The present invention is an improvement over the wax-retarder baffle invention disclosed in a co-pending application filed Sept. 24, 1964, Ser. No. 398,989, now US. Patent No. 3,197,577, on

an invention by Emmett N. Kuklock, assigned to the.

same assignee as the present invention. Both the co-pending K-uklock invention, as well as the present invention, are used in conjunction with in-the-ear hearing aids which comprise a housing containing a microphone and an amplifier and which is adapted to be fitted into the ear of the user. A soft resilient hollow boot extends outwardly from the housing and is inserted in the ear canal of the user with the extended end of the boot adjacent to the users eardrum. )Mounted inside of the hollow boot is an elongated receiver member which is connected to the output of the amplifier and which produces an acoustic output at its extended end. In order to prevent a large acoustic loss, a sound-emitting aperture extends through the extended end of the resilient boot so that the acoustic output of the receiver is always travelling in the same acoustic medium, that is, air.

The reduction of acoustic loss results in a much greater hearing aid efliciency; however, a problem has been found to exist with this type of hearing aid in that it allows eaiwax, or cerumen, to pass through the soundemitting aperture of the hollow boot and clog the acoustic output of the hearing aid receiver. The clogging of the receiver acoustic output results in a rather substantial decrease in hearing aid efficiency and also presents a rather difiicult cleaning problem to remove the earwax from the receiver output.

The wax-retarder baifle disclosed in the co-pending 'Kuklock invention solved the problem of earwax clogging the receiver output; however, the cleaning or replacing of the baflle of the co-pending Kuklock invention was rather troublesome, and in addition, due to the small size of the bafile, the users often lost the baflie when it was removed for cleaning.

The present invention, on the other hand, provides a novel wax guard cover for the sound-emitting aperture of the hearing aid boot, the novel cover allowing acoustic transmission entirely in air under normal hearing aid use, and yet which completely seals off the sound-emitting aperture of the boot when the cover is under pressure by any obstruction, such as compacted earwax, within the ear canal of the user.

Basically, the invention comprises a generally U- shaped cover retainer, the base of the 'U forming a head member which is positioned in the sound-emitting aperture of the hearing aid resilient boot. The sides, or arms, of the U-shaped cover retainer are mounted inside of the hollow boot with each of the arms contacting'opposite exterior surfaces of the hearing aid receiver and opposite interior surfaces of the hollow resilient boot. In this manner the head portion of the U-shaped retainer is held in the sound-emitting aperture of the resilient boot. The head member of the retainer has a central aperture extending along an axis therethrough, the walls of the central aperture forming a double taper; that is, the walls of the central aperture taper inwardly from the outer surface thereof to a minimum dimension within the aper- Patented Mar. 19, 1968 ice ture, and then taper outwardly from the minimum dimension to the aperture output. In addition, the head member has sound-emitting apertures extending therethrough, one sound-emitting aperture being positioned on each side of the central aperture.

A cover member, generally in the shape of a spherical segment, has a stud centrally mounted to the flat side thereof, the stud extending outwardly from the flat side of the cover. The extended end of the stud is formed generally inthe shape of a ball having a diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension of the central aperture of the head member formed by the double tapered aperture walls. In addition, the cover member has four quadrantly spaced ridges mounted to the flat side thereof, each of the ridges extending outwardly from the stud.

When in use, the ball portion of the stud is snapped into the central aperture of the retainer head member. The length of the stud is designed so that there is axial movement of the stud within the central aperture of the retainer head member, and the ridges on the flat face of the cover member rest on the outer surface of the hearing aid resilient boot adjacent the sound-emitting aperture. When an obstruction in the users ear canal presses against the outer surface of the cover member, the cover member is moved toward the resilient boot until it comes in contact therewith and completely closes the soundemitting aperture.

It is one object of this invention, therefore, to provide 'an improved wax guard for an in-the-ear hearing aid.

Another object of this invention is to provide a wax guard for an in-the-ear hearing aid which is easy to clean.

A further object of this invention is to provide a wax guard for an in-the-ear hearing aid which includes a cover member mounted so as to overlie the sound-emitting aperture of the hearing aid boot and which is spaced from the output end thereof to allow the acoustic energy from the hearing aid receiver to travel in an air medium; the cover member being movable to a position where it completely closes the sound-emitting aperture.

These and other objects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the accompanying specification, claims, and drawings of which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an in-the-ear hearing aid embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded view of the present invention shown in perspective;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in perspective of the cover member of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view in side elevation of the boot and cover member of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional View as seen from the line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged sectional view as seen from the line 6- 6 of FIG. 1, parts thereof being broken away and shown in section.

Referring to the drawings, wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views, there is shown a hearing aid 10 comprising a housing 11 adapted to be worn in the external ear of the user. Housing 11 has a microphone, an amplifier, and a source of energizing potential, such as a battery (not shown), mounted therein, the microphone being mounted adjacent a microphone grill opening 12 in housing 11.

An elongated resilient hollow boot 13 extends outward- 1y from the interior of housing 11, boot 13 being formed from rubber, or other suitable soft resilient material and having a sound-emitting aperture 14 in the extended end thereof.

An elongated receiver member has an acoustic output aperture 16 at one end thereof, receiver 15 being capable of producing an acoustic output when energized. Receiver 15 further has opposite side surfaces 17 and 18.

A generally U-shaped cover retainer member is indicated by the numeral 20. The base portion of the generally U-shaped retainer member 20 forms a head member 21, which has a central aperture 22 extending along an axis therethrough. The walls of the central aperture 22 are double tapered; that is, the portion of the aperture wall 23 tapers inwardly to a minimum dimension at 24 Within the central aperture, while the aperture wall portion 25 tapers outwardly from the minimum dimension 24 to the output end of aperture 22. Head member 21 further has sound-emitting apertures 26 and 27 extending therethrough, sound-emitting apertures 26 and 27 being located on opposite sides of the central aperture 22.

The generally 'U-shaped retainer member 20 has sides, or arms, 30 and 31. The retainer member 20 is positioned around receiver 15 so that the sides or arms 30 and 31 of the retainer member 20 contact the side walls 17 and 18, respectively, of receiver 15, the head member 21 of retainer member 20 being adjacent the acoustic output aperture 16 of receiver 15.

The receiver 15 and the retainer member 20 are mounted inside of the hollow resilient boot 13 with the head member 21 of the retainer member 20 being positioned in the sound-emitting aperture 14 of boot 13. The resilient boot-covered receiver is adapted to be inserted in the ear canal of the user so that the sound-emitting apertures 26 and 27 of the retainer member 20 and the acoustic output aperture 16 of receiver 15 are adjacent the users eardrum.

A cover member 32, generally in the shape of a spherical segment, has a stud 33 mounted to the flat side of the spherical segment-shaped cover member, the stud extending outwardly therefrom. The extended end of the stud 33 is generally in the shape of a ball 34 having a diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension at the point 24 of the central aperture 22 of the head member 21.

The diameter of the flat side of the spherical segmentshaped cover 32 is slightly greater than the maximum dimension of the sound-emitting aperture 14 of the resilient hollow boot 13.

Four quadrantly spaced ridges are mounted to the flat side of the cover member 32 and extend outwardly from the stud 33.

In operation, the ball-shaped portion 34 of stud 33 is snapped, or frictionally held, in the central aperture 22 of the head member 21. The length of stud 33 is such that the ball 34 and stud 33 are axially movable in the central aperture 22, and in normal use the ridges 35 on the fiat face of the cover member 32 rest on the surface of the resilient boot 13 adjacent the sound-emitting aperture 14. The ridges 35 hold the cover member 32 in an overlying spaced relationship with respect to the sound-emitting aperture 14 of boot 13, so that the acoustic output from the aperture 16 of receiver 15 travels through the soundemitting apertures 26 and 27 of head member 21 and out around the cover member 32 to the users eardrum. In the event the cover member 32 meets an obstruction, such as compacted earwax, indicated by dotted lines in FIG. 4, in the ear canal of the user, the pressure on the cover 32 will force the ridges 35 to compress the resilient boot 13 adjacent the sound-emitting aperture 14 and cause the cover 32 to bottom or contact the surface of boot 13. Since the diameter of the fiat side of the cover 32 is greater than the maximum dimension of the sound-emitting aperture 14, the sound-emitting aperture 14 will be completely closed thereby preventing earwax or other foreign matter from entering the sound-emitting aperture 14 and clogging the receiver output 16.

The cover member 32 may be cleaned by pressing the cover member against the boot 13 and simultaneously wiping the external surface of the cover member 32.

It is to be understood that while there has been shown a specific embodiment of this invention, that this is for the purpose of illustration only, and this invention is to be limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. An in-the-ear hearing aid comprising:

(a) a housing adapted to be fitted into the ear of the user, said housing having an elongated hollow boot extending therefrom;

(b) said hollow boot having a sound-emitting aperture in the extended end thereof;

(c) an elongated receiver member capable of produc ing an acoustic output from one end thereof, said receiver being mounted inside of said hollow boot so that the acoustic output end of said receiver is adjacent the sound-emitting aperture of said boot, said boot and receiver adapted for insertion in the ear canal of the user with the sound-emitting aperture adjacent the eardrum of the user;

(d) a head member mounted within the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot and having a doubletapered central aperture extending along an axis therethrough, said head member further having a sound-emitting aperture therethrough;

(e) a pair of arms connected to said head member and extending generally parallelly from opposite sides of said head member in the same direction as the axis of said central aperture, said arms contacting opposite exterior surfaces of said receiver and opposite interior surfaces of said hollow boot to hold said head member in position in the sound-emitting aperture of said boot;

(f) a spherical segment cover member, the fiat side of said spherical segment cover member having a diameter greater than the maximum dimension of the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot;

(g) a stud centrally mounted to the fiat side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom, the extended end of said stud forming a ball having a diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension of the central aperture of said head member;

(h) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud;

(i) said ball being frictionally held in the doubletapered central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein; and

(j) said spaced ridges resting on the outer surface of said boot adjacent said sound-emitting aperture thereof.

2. An in-the-ear hearing aid comprising:

(a) a housing adapted to be fitted into the ear of the user, said housing having an elongated hollow boot extending therefrom;

(b) said hollow boot having a sound-emitting aperture in the extended end thereof;

(c) an elongated receiver member capable of producing an acoustic output from one end thereof, said receiver being mounted inside of said hollow boot so that the acoustic output end of said receiver is adjacent the sound-emitting aperture of said boot, said boot and receiver adapted for insertion in the ear canal of the user with the sound-emitting aperture adjacent the eardrum of the user;

(d) a head member mounted within the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot, said head member having a central aperture and at least one sound-emitting aperture therethrough;

(e) a spherical segment cover member, the flat side of said spherical segment having a diameter gearter than the maximum dimension of the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot;

(f) a stud centrally mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom to an extended end;

(g) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud;

(h) the extended end of said stud being frictionally held in the central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein; and

(i) said spaced ridges resting on the outer surface of said boot adjacent said sound-emitting aperture thereof.

3. In an in-the-ear hearing aid having an elongated hollow boot with a sound-emitting aperture in one end thereof and having an elongated receiver member capable of producing an acoustic output from one end thereof, mounted inside of said hollow boot so that the acoustic output end of said receiver is adjacent the sound-emitting aperture of said boot, said boot and receiver adapted for insertion in the .ear of a user with the sound-emitting aperture adjacent the eardrum of the user, the improvement comprising:

(a) a head member mounted with-in the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot, said head member having a double-tapered central aperture and at least one sound-emitting aperture therethrough;

(b) a spherical segment cover member, the flat side of said cover member having a diameter greater than the maximum dimension of the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot;

(0) a stud centrally mounted to the fiat side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom, the extended end of said stud forming a ball having a diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension of the central aperture of said head member;

(d) four quadrantly spaced ridges mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud;

(e) said ball being 'frictionally held in the doubletapered central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein; and

(f) said spaced ridges resting on the outer surface of said boot adjacent said sound-emitting aperture thereof.

4. An in-the-ear hearing aid wax guard assembly com prising:

(a) a head member having a double-tapered aperture extending along an axis therethrough, said head member further having a sound-emitting aperture therethrough;

(b) a spherical segment cover member;

(c) a stud mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom, the extended end of said stud forming a ball having a diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension of the central aperture of said head member;

(d) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud; and

(e) said ball being removably held in the doubletapered central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein.

5. In an in-the-ear hearing aid having an elongated boot with a sound-emitting aperture in one end thereof, said boot adapted for insertion in the ear canal of a user with the sound-emitting aperture adjacent the users eardrum, the improvement comprising:

(a) a cover member mounted to overlie the soundemitting aperture of said boot and spaced from the output end thereof;

(b) said cover member being movable toward and away from said boot; and

(c) said cover member having a surface area sufiicient to close oif said sound-emitting aperture when the cover member contacts said boot.

6. An in-the-ear hearing aid wax guard assembly comprising:

(a) a head member having a central aperture extending along an axis therethrough, said head member further having a sound-emitting aperture there through;

(b) a pair of arms connected to said head member and extending generally parallelly from opposite sides of said head member in the same direction as the axis of said central aperture;

(c) a cover member;

(d) a stud centrally mounted to one side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom, the extended end of said stud forming a ball having a diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension of the central aperture of said head member;

(e) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to said one side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud; and

(f) said ball being frictionally held in the central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein.

7. An in-the-ear hearing aid wax guard assembly comprising:

(a) a head member, said head member having a central aperture and at least one sound-emitting aperture therethrough;

(b) a cover member having a flat side;

(c) a stud centrally mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom to an extended end;

(d) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud; and

(e) the extended end of said stud being frictionally held in the central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein.

8. An in-the-ear hearing aid comprising:

(a) a housing adapted to be fitted into the ear of the user, said housing having an elongated hollow boot extending therefrom;

(b) said hollow boot having in the extended end thereof;

(c) an elongated receiver member capable of producing an acoustic output from one end thereof, said receiver being mounted inside of said hollow boot so that the acoustic output end of said receiver is adjacent the sound-emitting aperture of said boot, said boot and receiver adapted for insertion in the ear canal of the user with the sound-emitting aperture adjacent the eardrum of the user;

(d) a head member mounted within the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot, said head member having a central aperture and at least one soundemitting aperture therethrough;

(e) a cover member with a flat side having an area greater than the area of the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot;

(f) a stud centrally mounted to the flat side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom to an extended end;

(g) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to the fiat side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud;

(h) the extended end of said stud being frictionally held in the central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein; and

(i) said spaced ridges resting on the outer surface of said boot adjacent said sound-emitting aperture thereof.

9. An in-the-ear hearing aid comprising:

(a) a housing adapted to be fitted into the ear of the user, said housing having an elongated hollow boot extending therefrom:

(b) said hollow boot having a sound-emitting aperture in the extended end thereof;

a sound-emitting aperture (c) an elongated receiver member capable of producing an acoustic output from one end thereof, said receiver being mounted inside of said hollow boot so that the acoustic output end of said receiver is adjacent the sound-emitting aperture of said boot, said boot and receiver adapted for insertion in the ear canal of the user with the sound-emitting aperture adjacent the eardrum of the user;

((1) a head member mounted within the sound-emitting aperture of said hollow boot and having a central aperture extending along an axis therethrough, the walls of said central aperture tapering inwardly to a minimum dimension and then outwardly, said head member further having a sound-emitting aperture therethrou-gh;

(e) a pair of arms connected to said head member and extending generally parallelly from opposite sides of said head member in the same direction as the axis of said central aperture, said arms contacting opposite exterior surfaces of said receiver and op- 20 posite interior surfaces of said hollow boot to hold said head member in position in the sound-emitting aperture of said boot;

(f) a cover member, one side of said cover member having an area greater than the area of the soundemitting aperture of said hollow boot;

(g) a stud centrally mounted to said one side of said cover member and extending outwardly therefrom, the extended end of said stud being enlarged and having an effective diameter slightly greater than the minimum dimension of the central aperture of said head member;

(h) a plurality of spaced ridges mounted to said one side of said cover member and extending outwardly from said stud;

(i) said ball being frictionally held in the doubletapered central aperture of said head member and being axially movable therein; and

(j) said spaced ridges resting on the outer surface of said boot adjacent said sound-emitting aperture thereof.

No references cited.

KATHLEEN H. CLAFFY, Primary Examiner.

A. A. McG-ILL, Assistant Examiner. 

5. IN AN IN-THE-EAR HEARING AID HAVING AN ELONGATED BOOT WITH A SOUND-EMITTING APERTURE IN ONE END THEREOF, SAID BOOT ADAPTED FOR INSERTION IN THE EAR CANAL OF A USER WITH THE SOUND-EMITTING APERTURE ADJACENT THE USER''S EARDRUM, THE IMPROVEMENT COMPRISING: (A) A COVER MEMBER MOUNTED TO OVERLIE THE SOUNDEMITTING APERTURE OF SAID BOOT AND SPACED FROM THE OUTPUT END THEREOF; 